Tokyo Ghoul: Carnefex
by Ettore
Summary: Kaneki Ken. The Centipede of CCG. His mind has broken from endless torture, but maybe it can be saved. All he needs is someone to care. *VERY OOC*AU*
1. Chapter 1

**I decided to make a Tokyo Ghoul fanfiction because I had an idea regarding it.**

 **The basis of the idea is detailed in this beginning chapter.  
**

 **I haven't read anything like it thus far, even though one basic concept will be familiar.**

* * *

"Oh boy! You're a durable one aint'cha?!"

"Please! I'm begging you! Just let me go!" the ghoul wailed. He was violently smashed face-first into the wall of the alley, and several teeth clattered to the pavement.

"My dad tells me I can't eat humans, even though they taste sooooo good. He says I can only eat ghouls, and I can only come out of my room once a month." the white haired young man said with a disturbingly innocent smile.

The taste of a ghoul's flesh couldn't be compared to the few times he'd eaten a human, but it was an old and familiar taste. As far back as he could remember, he had been taken care of by his dad, and he lived in Cochlea with him and all of his friends. Sometimes he would do something wrong, and he would be sent back to Haruguchi for his punishment. While Kaneki wasn't fond of the man, he liked that at least someone got pleasure from his pain. When the session was over, he would be dragged back to his room and his dad's buddies would put on an audiobook for him to listen to while he recovered.

He picked up the ghoul he had been beating on, relishing in the look of pain in his eyes. The man's clothes were soaked through with blood, and he was breathing raggedly with his single functioning lung.

Kaneki roughly threw him into a wall and looked at him with a bit of disappointment. The ghoul was durable sure, but he had virtually no attack power. Kaneki had only got stabbed once, and it wasn't even painful enough to make him blink.

"Come on, is that really all the fight you got?" he asked, "I only get to come out once a month, and you have the gall to make me waste it on you? Jeez, the 20th ward sucks!"

Kaneki groaned in exasperation, "I'm going to have to find someone else at this point, this is so _shitty_!"

Kaneki slammed his foot into the small of the ghoul's back, drawing a sharp cry of pain. The ghoul struggled futilely to escape the pressure of Kaneki's bare foot, but gave up after a moment.

"Please, just kill me." he whimpered.

Kaneki scowled, "You're a real coward alright, I barely even touched you. You want to die so bad? Fine!"

The ghoul's mouth was forced open as Kaneki's hand invaded it, gripping his upper jaw tightly. The ghoul didn't even get a chance to scream as the upper portion of his head was violently ripped off.

Kaneki sighed as he tossed the head aside and started walking. He may not mind the taste of ghoul, but he wasn't going to waste valuable time to eat a weakling.

* * *

Touka was walking back to Anteiku from Yoriko's house, as her human friend had decided to invite her over for dinner. Touka reluctantly agreed, forcing herself to keep the food down, no matter how disgusting it tasted to her. Yoriko had taken the time to prepare a meal for her, and she'd be damned if she let her friend's work go to waste.

As a result however, she was feeling rather ill and was slightly off balance on her way back.

Touka's head shot up when she heard several voices screaming from an alley one block down. She forced the sick feeling down and took to the rooftops, running over buildings till she stood over the alley the screams were emanating from.

Her eyes widened when she looked down.

* * *

Kaneki stood in front of the three remaining ghouls he had cornered, four dark red tentacles swaying behind him. He hadn't had any luck finding a ghoul that was actually strong, so he reluctantly decided to go for quantity over quality. The two corpses behind him were a testament to that fact. They didn't even have Kagunes yet.

One of the survivors, a teenage girl, formed a blue Koukaku Kagune that covered her shoulder. Kaneki grinned when the ghoul rushed at him with a war cry, impaling her arm through his chest.

Kaneki didn't even flinch as he took the hit, the fluorescent blade penetrating his lung. He kept his smile even as blood leaked from his mouth.

The girl attempted to retreat, but she was stopped when Kaneki gripped her arm with enough force to break bones. She cried out, but that wouldn't be anything to what was coming.

Kaneki grabbed her throat and lifted her into the air with his right hand, keeping her arm in his grip. With a twist he ripped her arm, Kagune and all, off of her body. She gave an unholy scream of pain and terror right before she was silenced when Kaneki broke her neck.

He dropped her body unceremoniously, and the other two ghouls cowered at the end of the one-way alley. It was obvious the girl was the strongest of them, so Kaneki didn't even give them a chance to attack him. He sent two of his Rinkaku tentacles sailing at them with the intent to end them with one strike.

The last thing he expected to see was his tentacles severed before they could reach their target.

Touka landed in front of the ghouls, standing defiantly against this stranger. She had arrived just as he ripped that poor girl's arm off. There was no way in hell she was going to allow this freak to continue.

"Who are you and what the HELL do you think you're doing!?" Touka shouted.

Kaneki laughed, "Well now, this is interesting. You look strong!"

"Tch, I asked you a question, douchebag." she said.

"That you did. Very well, my name is Kaneki Ken. As for what I'm doing, I couldn't find anyone strong to eat, so I went after some weaklings to get my Rc count up. I only get to eat once a month, you see." Kaneki answered.

Touka frowned, then gasped slightly when she saw that only one of his eyes had a Kakugan. A One-Eye.

Kaneki grinned even wider somehow, "After a couple hunting trips I noticed something. I always wanted to ask, since I don't know much about myself. How rare is a One-Eyed ghoul?"

Touka smirked, "It's going to be less common in a moment." She held her arms out to her sides and her crimson Ukaku Kagune exploded from her back, forming a large wing with a smaller wing on the other side.

Kaneki cracked his finger, giggling like a maniac, "You will do. You'll be delicious, I CAN TELL!"

Kaneki crouched on all fours, then two more Rinkaku tentacles burst from his lower back. These ones were far different though. They took the appearance of giant centipede tails with blades in place of legs. Kaneki's face was shrouded by his hair, but then he looked up to reveal a black angled mask with one shaking red eye in the middle.

Touka was frozen with fear. What the hell was this thing?!

"HAHAHAHAHA! Is-is-is-is it dinner time?! I think it IS!" Kaneki screamed gleefully.

His body tensed, and Touka got ready.

"Tell me... one thousand... minus se-se-SEVEN!" he roared as he shot off like a bullet in Touka's direction. Her eyes widened when she realized he was too fast to dodge. She closed her eyes, and the sound of tearing flesh was heard.

But it wasn't hers.

Her eyes opened and she saw a terrifying sight. Towering over her by at least a meter and with one alabaster blade piercing Kaneki's body, the One-Eyed Owl stood tall.

"Touka."

She looked sharply at the Owl, her face showing shock. She knew that voice!

"Take these ghouls and get out of here." said the Owl. Kaneki screamed again, and Owl was pierced through by one of Kaneki's centipede tails.

Kaneki pulled himself off of the blade and jumped back. He stared at the Owl for a bit, strangely silent. Then he grabbed two of the bodies with his red tentacles, turned around and jumped away, bouncing off of buildings like a pinball.

The Owl stayed put for a moment, before the red and white armor encasing him glowed and evaporated.

After a moment, the red mist cleared to reveal Yoshimura still clad in his manager's garb. A large hole in his clothing showed where Kaneki had stabbed him. There was no wound though.

Yoshimura sighed, "I'm sorry Touka, but we'll have to discuss this later. Come with me, and bring those two with you. They could use some coffee."

* * *

 **So? What did you think? This is my first attempt at a Tokyo Ghoul fanfiction, and I already like it.**

 **This is an idea in which Kaneki is a CCG pet project, though his One-Eye status isn't their doing.**

 **Let me know what you guys think, I'm dying to know!**


	2. Chapter 2

.

The Cochlea guards dragged the bloody form of Kaneki back to his cell, paying no mind to the still-regenerating toes dragging across the rough concrete. The doors opened and they deposited him in his bed, turning on the audio version of 'The Egg of the Black Goat', Kaneki's favorite book, on their way out.

Kaneki merely stared at the ceiling dazedly, almost catatonic from his wounds. Today's session had been especially brutal. Punishment for him using his Kakuja and attracting the attention of the One-Eyed owl.

The door of his cell opened up, and a tall man with white hair walked in, sitting in the chair next to him. The foot-thick Quinque steel door closed with a heavy boom behind him. Kaneki turned his head slowly, coming face to face with Kishou Arima.

"Kaneki." Arima said firmly, "What possessed you to use your Kakuja in a public setting? You are lucky that the sounds you were making persuaded that city block to stay inside. The police actually got calls directly addressed to the CCG."

"I'm... sorry... dad..." Kaneki rasped.

"What have I told you before? I am not your father, I was the one assigned to watch over you because of your Kakuja." Arima said, a bit softer.

"You're... all I have... I can pretend... can't I?" Kaneki asked, fighting against his collapsed lung, "You're stronger... than me... and you have... white hair... If there was anyone... to be my family... it would... be you."

Kaneki stared back at the ceiling, deciding whether he should say something that might send him into another session with Haruguchi.

He decided to take the risk, "Dad? Can you... make him... stop hurting... me? I know... it's necessary... but it... hurts so much..."

Arima's face stayed passive, "You know that's not possible. Your sessions are needed. They are a requirement for you living here."

"But why? Why do I... have to hurt... this bad?" Kaneki asked with tears in his eyes.

Arima remained silent for a moment, before standing and walking to the door that opened again to allow him passage.

"They are needed."

The door slammed shut after that, and Kaneki let the tears escape his eyes. He grit his teeth and forced his Kagune to activate through the Rc suppressants, one red tentacle forming and pushing him up into a sitting position. His wounds healed at a quick pace, his fingers and toes growing back within minutes.

He stared at the door as a thought entered his head.

 _A requirement for me living here huh?_ Kaneki thought, _What if I wasn't living here?_

* * *

.

Touka gave the blond guy his cappuccino, ignoring his call as she walked back to the counter. He had certainly been persistent about his flirting, even if the attempts were all abysmal.

She couldn't stop thinking about what happened yesterday, and what she learned because of it.

* * *

 _._

 _Yoshimura poured coffee into two cups of his favorite china, before going and sitting down across from Touka at the table. He gave her one of the cups and waited for her to speak._

 _Touka reached for the cup, before pulling her hand back and resting it on her knee. She was silent for a moment, before she spoke with slight venom, "You're the Owl."_

 _Yoshimura simply nodded, he wasn't going to deny it._

 _Touka grit her teeth, "You are the Owl. You're the main reason why ghouls are so vilified. You're the reason they hate us! You run this shop professing peace and tolerance between us, but you're just a HYPOCRITE!" She slammed her fist n the table, spilling a little of the coffee._

 _Yoshimura grabbed a napkin and wiped it up, "I can assure you Touka, humans hated ghouls just as much as they do now before I came along. My birth changed nothing."_

 _"But why?" Touka asked, "Why would you act so caring towards them, when you butchered them like animals regularly?"_

 _The manager of Anteiku was silent for a moment, before he gave his answer, "Taking is tantamount to evil. From the moment we are born we continue to take, and thus our entire lives are sins in their own right. I am aware that I am evil. I have known that my entire life."_

 _He took a sip of his coffee, "I used to accept that gladly, I took more lives in a matter of months than most ghouls do in their entire lives. I killed everyone, ghoul or otherwise. If I felt like they would reveal my existence I killed them indiscriminately."  
_

 _His face turned mournful, "Then I met this human girl. She had such an upbeat personality, it was infectious. She was a waitress at my favorite cafe. We talked all the time, and she was always eager to help me out when I had a question. One day, when I had just killed a ghoul for a petty reason, she saw me. She had looked down the alley at me, and saw me with my Kagune out. My heart felt like it was being torn out. I knew I had to kill her, otherwise she would expose me to the CCG. I took a deep breath, turned around, and lunged. But so did she. When I went to kill her, she wrapped her arms around me. She accepted me the moment she found out I was a ghoul."_

 _Touka was riveted to her seat, hanging on every word. She could see where this was going, but it sounded impossible, like a fairy tale._

 _"Ukina was a_ human _, and she still accepted me. She was the reason why I changed my views." Yoshimura's eyes hardened, his Kakugan flooding their surface._

 _"She was murdered, because she was a human, and because she couldn't fight off the ghouls who viewed what we had as a sin. She had just given birth to a healthy girl, and when I took my daughter into the sewers to flee the ghouls who had killed Ukina, I had to leave her behind to fight them off. I killed them, but my daughter died as well."_

 _Touka's eyes widened. How horrible!_

 _"I have not taken a single life since then. And I shall continue that practice until my death." Yoshimura stated._

* * *

 _._

Despite Yoshimura's confiding, she still felt that some things didn't add up. The first, and most glaring, hole in his story was that he said he swore off killing after the death of his family. The Owl had been killing relentlessly only ten years ago, and Touka remembers that Yoshimura had already adopted the philosophy of pacifism when she first came to live with Anteiku at eight years old. Plus the fact that she didn't remember ever seeing him in a relationship with anyone, and he was fairly open about his ghoul status with other ghouls. Both of those pointed to the assumption that he had been with Ukina much further back than that. So either he was lying about his oath...

Or there was another Owl.

The thought was terrifying. In less than one day she had seen two ghouls with insane capabilities she'd never even heard about ghouls possessing, with the possibility of a third. What were these 'super-ghouls' called? Surely they would have had a name by now. Power like that doesn't go unnoticed.

And then there was the memory she had, of the last time she ever saw her father. His Kagune had taken a shape she had never seen before, and wrapped around his body. From the looks of it, that's what Yoshimura and that Kaneki guy did too. Is that all there was to it? Wrapping your Kagune around yourself gave you a power boost?

Touka shook her head. There was no way it was that simple. If it was as easy as that, then ghouls everywhere would be doing the same.

There had to be more to it.

* * *

.

Kaneki took a deep breath, focusing his mind. He needed to do this right, and he couldn't afford to fight with anybody because he lost himself to bloodlust.

His mask crawled over his face, four red tentacles and two centipede tails burst from him, and he crouched on all fours.

The alarms went off when the Rc detectors picked up his Kakuja, And Kaneki immediately forgot about using the cell door. Arima would certainly be there.

Kaneki turned around and stabbed his tails into the wall of dark metal, slowly but surely rending a hole big enough for him to fit through. When it was big enough, he smashed through the concrete on the other side, taking off down the hallway.

One guard saw him and attempted to shoot him with his Q-gun, but he was promptly severed in half for his troubles. Kaneki smelled the blood and meat exposed to the open air. Maybe just one bite.

Kaneki shook his head. He needed to stay focused, no matter how delicious the man may taste.

He shot down the halls at breakneck speed, smashing through wall after wall with his tails, bypassing guards to save time, and turning randomly to throw off possible(definite) pursuers.

After smashing one more wall he came to a massive circular space lined with hundreds of cells. The bay doors leading to the outside world were already closing above him, he needed to hurry.

Kaneki jumped to a wall and bolted upwards, the momentum of his body overcoming gravity and allowing him to run up the wall. He jumped between bridges and the security tower in the middle, gaining altitude in an effort to surpass the closing bulkheads. One final, desperate jump that tore some of the muscles in his legs, and he had cleared the doors.

They shut just as he landed, and he ran past the guards that were shooting him. The bullets stung, but did very little otherwise. He ran out into the lobby and smashed through the glass doors leading outside.

The Kakuja merely jumped over the barbwire fence around the perimeter of the courtyard, and dashed off into the forest surrounding Cochlea.

He was free.

* * *

 **.**

 **Alright, here is the second chapter. Short again, I know, but I like to put timeskips in between chapters, no matter how short they are.**

 **The next chapter will have more answers than this one, as well as another encounter between him and Anteiku.**

 **Leave a review, I'm always interested in what people have to say about my stories. Plus I take people's reviews into account when I'm writing subsequent chapters.**


	3. Chapter 3

.

Kaneki was sitting outside a bookstore in the 13th ward, trying to read an actual hard copy of The Egg of the Black Goat. He had been observing both humans and ghouls in the two days since his escape, and one of the first things he noticed was that he needed money to take things from the stores. He would just take them and kill everyone inside, but he was trying to hide from CCG right now and that would immediately alert them.

So he just punched out a random guy and took his money, leaving before anyone noticed.

Kaneki was getting mildly frustrated though. He was never allowed to actually read, the guards at Cochlea only let him listen to audiobooks. So even though he taught himself a little bit over time from the seldom pieces of paper that made their way into his cell, he was struggling to read his favorite book. The only reason he was even doing this well was because he'd listened to it so many times that he remembered most of the words he heard.

Fed up for the moment, Kaneki put the book into the pocket of his cargo shorts and got up off of the bench he had been sitting on. He pulled the hood of the black sweater he was wearing up and started walking down the street aimlessly, noting which people he walked by were ghouls and which were humans by their scent.

There was actually a surprising amount of ghouls here, about one to every four humans he had walked past.

It wasn't long before he noticed that he was being followed. They were a fair distance behind him, but he knew what hostility felt like. After a couple moments he turned into an alley, his favorite hunting ground.

The assailant followed, and the sudden lack of people around him allowed Kaneki to take a deep breath through his nose. Interesting... a human of all things. Kaneki grinned in delight, this fool may as well have served himself on a platter. Kaneki was grateful for the cloudy night. Nobody would be around to see him.

Kaneki allowed him to follow for a bit further before spinning around and lashing out with his fist. The man's skull crumpled around Kaneki's fist, and he died instantly.

Kaneki started breathing heavily as he licked the blood off of his fist, "Ooooh, I haven't eaten a human in such a long time. This is going to be great."

He looked around for a moment before grabbing the body and crouching to jump straight up to the top of the building to the left of him.

He landed with a thud, dropping the body and digging in before it even stopped moving. Unbidden, his Kagune formed and four tentacles flailed around wildly. He kept eating, not even noticing that his Kagune was out. Nor did he notice the three ghouls jumping up onto the roof with him.

"Well now, what do we have here?" the leader called. He was a very large man, wearing a light cream suit and a hockey mask that only made him more imposing.

Kaneki looked up sharply, finally noticing the figures. After looking over the big one, he looked to the other two who were with him. One of them had wild blue hair that reminded him of the girl Owl saved the other day, and a beaked black mask that covered the lower half of his face. The other was a skinny man with a Clown mask.

A guttural growl emanated from Kaneki, "Back the fuck off, or I'll destroy you."

The big one laughed loudly, cracking his finger afterwards, "You've got balls talkin' to me like that. You obviously don't know who I am. The name's Yakumo, but you can call me Jason."

Kaneki's eyes widened before he started laughing his ass off.

Jason lost his smirk, "What the hell is so funny?!"

Kaneki calmed down enough to talk, "Man, what isn't? The little gecko's all grown up."

Jason flinched, "Who are you?"

"You were so skinny last time I saw you. Of course, I only ever saw you when they dragged you out of Haruguchi's room. So you would have never seen me." Kaneki chuckled.

Jason bristled, "I asked your name you little shit!"

"Kaneki Ken." he said while cracking his finger. Jason's eyes widened when he realized how Kaneki knew about Haruguchi. Kaneki smirked, but the hood hid his features from the serial killer in front of him.

"This is good for me," Kaneki said, "I was going to settle for a human, but I have never eaten another Kakuja before! You're incomplete, but you'll do nicely."

"You seem to think you can take me." the Scourge of the 13th ward growled menacingly.

"Are you kidding? I'm the only ghoul to ever wound Kishou Arima, and you think you stand a chance?" Kaneki laughed.

Jason decided to go all out when he heard that, so he tore off his suit coat and started forming his partial Kakuja. The thick Rc tissue formed over his face and around his right arm, transforming it into what appeared to be the twisted mockery of a flower. He crouched low, not even paying attention to the space behind Kaneki in his rage. He lunged forward, and only realized his mistake when Kaneki pulled down his hood to show a complete One-Eyed Kakuja mask.

A red tentacle shot out from behind Kaneki, the razor-sharp tip flying at Yamori with enough force to distort the air. He brought his Kakuja arm up to block, but it pierced right through both the arm and him. Kaneki rushed forward, getting under Jason with his much smaller build. Kaneki lashed out with a tail, shearing most of the arm off at the elbow.

Jason managed to get a kick in, sending Kaneki flying off of the building. He landed roughly in the street, cracking the pavement underneath him. Before he could get up, he was smashed through the street and into the sewer by Jason's regenerated arm. Kaneki was grabbed by the arm and thrown into the wall of the large sewer.

Jason meant to pursue him, but instead was met face to shell with the blunt side of a centipede tail. Kaneki pressed his advantage, piercing Jason's body with all of his Kagune limbs.

"Well done, I was so surprised that I couldn't react. But that's as far as you ge-ge-ge-GET!" Kaneki was going to rip the man in half when another voice sounded in the sewer.

"Well now, isn't this interesting? Jason fighting with Mukade? What a show!" called the owner of the voice, a Ghoul Investigator with unkempt white hair and with a downright disturbing expression on his face. Another dove stood next to him, much taller and already popping his attache case.

"Fuck." Kaneki said, ripping his six predatory limbs out of Jason and bolting down the sewer at blinding speed. The tall dove went to pursue him, but was stopped by the crazy one.

"Hold on Amon, we're going to need to focus for this one."

"Yes, Mado-san."

* * *

.

Kaneki shot through the grate, tearing it off of it's hinges and sending it into the creek below.

"That was stupid, and now it looks like I'll have to relocate again." Kaneki said, withdrawing his Kakuja. The mask and Kagune evaporated behind him, leaving him in a hoodie with no back and a pair of somehow white shorts.

Kaneki discarded the hoodie and started walking, following the creek till it came to a small bridge. He walked over the road that ran across the bridge, and notice a bus stop a short ways down.

As he walked to it, he contemplated where he should go, seeing as he couldn't stay in the 13th anymore. He arrived at the stop and looked at the map of Japan on the side of the booth. After scanning it, Kaneki had an idea.

If he went to the 20th ward, he might be able to ally himself with the Owl. That kind of friend would assure he stayed out of CCG's hands, at least until he decided to go back. The fact that Arima wouldn't expect him to return to the place where he caused such a commotion was just icing on the cake.

He noticed a man in a grey suit sitting further down on the bench asleep. He'd obviously been waiting for the bus for some time. Too bad for him, he was of the same height and build as Kaneki.

Kaneki walked up and chopped the man's neck with enough force to break his neck and cause a functional decapitation, and laid the body down to take off the suit.

He used the water fountain to clean himself, folded the suit, grabbed the body and took it with him as he left the boundaries of the city.

He wanted a snack for the trip.

* * *

.

Touka sighed in exasperation. She had been unable to persuade Yoshimura to reveal how he got so strong, and that was annoying.

As she thought further on it, she decided that there must be some reason for his refusal. Usually there was a price for power. Maybe she'd lose her mind like Kaneki. Maybe you had to be mentally strong to be able to use it.

That got her thinking about him. He came out of nowhere, and it wasn't because he was good at hiding. She knew that much at least. The moment he popped up he started massacring ghouls. He didn't even try to be subtle about it either. He said he 'couldn't find anyone strong to eat'.

Touka's eyes widened. Was that it? She knew that humans went mad after repeated cannibalism, but did that apply to ghouls as well? But if that was the case, then why was the manager sill perfectly sane? Plus she just couldn't picture the man eating other ghouls.

Back to square one.

She looked at the clock on her bedside table and cursed, she was going to be late for school. She wanted to get into Kamii, and she couldn't do that if she was missing out on her last semester of high school.

She quickly got dressed and grabbed what appeared to be a brown sugar cube from a small bowl on her coffee table. She popped it in her mouth as she rushed out the door.

She only hoped Yoriko had decided not to cook today.

* * *

 **.**

 **So this is the second chapter, sorry they're so short, but the beginning will have several one or two-day timeskips. One does not simply cross Japan in a day.**

 **Some people may feel that I'm overusing Kaneki's Kakuja. Aside from the fat that both Owls pretty much fight exclusively with their Kakuja, Kaneki has been trained (Painfully I might add) to utilize his Kakuja effectively. Also, the reason he still only has a small Kakuja now is because while he did eat ghouls primarily, he only ate one per month until now. It took much longer for him to gain a Kakuja in my story than it did in canon, because Kaneki wasn't allowed to become a binge-eater of ghouls like in the anime.**

 **I know I said this chapter would have answers, but then I realized that I had written Kaneki into the 13th ward, and I just _had_ to include a skirmish with Jason.**

 **Let me know what you think, and feel free to offer suggestions.**

 ***Small edit* I forgot to write in that Kaneki was wearing cargo shorts. Not too big, but I didn't want people calling me for him putting his book into some pocket dimension.**


	4. Chapter 4

**For the sake of the story, Rize is five years older than Kaneki. You'll see why in a bit.**

* * *

.

Rize Kamishiro was sitting at one of the tables in Anteiku, reading The Egg of the Black Goat. She had read the book so many times but she still felt at home in the pages. She'd been in a sort of funk lately, and she couldn't even figure it out herself. She didn't even feel like eating, only having eaten two people this month.

A scent passed by her nose, and her eyes widened. The scent was familiar, so much so that it was scary.

She snapped her book shut, putting it in her purse. She dropped some money on the table before leaving in a hurry, rushing out the door and drawing several looks.

Touka narrowed her eyes. Rize had a sense of smell that was uncanny, even to ghouls. For her to run out like that, she must have smelled something extraordinarily interesting.

* * *

.

Rize ran through the streets, following the scent between buildings and through alleys. Every time she thought she was about to find the source, it got even stronger and led somewhere else. She was growing frustrated, this scent was the same one from her early memories, she _had_ to find it.

But it was stronger now. The aroma was so potent to her that it was like someone sprayed copious amounts of a cologne made just for her. The sweet smell of human mingling in with the bitter scent of ghoul, there was nothing more spectacular.

Rize came to a small park for an apartment complex, and tried to follow the scent further. But the trail stopped here. She looked around to see a young man with white hair sitting on a bench, face buried into the very same book she had been reading earlier. He was dressed in a handsome grey suit, not unlike what ghoul investigators would wear. She hesitated at that thought, but walked forward when she couldn't see a Quinque case.

Kaneki was absorbed in learning the kanji on the page, but stopped when he felt someone behind him. He turned around on the bench to see a ghoul with purple hair staring at him strangely. But there was something familiar about her.

"What do you want?" he asked sharply.

Her eyes misted up as she stared at him, and she gave a mix between a sob and a laugh, "It's really you."

Kaneki was confused now, but went on guard when she started walking towards him. He stood up quickly, dropping his book in the process, "Don't come any closer."

She ignored him, walking even faster. Kaneki had enough and formed a red tentacle, launching it at her.

And she blocked with the exact same Kagune.

Kaneki's eyed were impossibly wide, and he formed three more, "No way. No fucking way. HOW DO YOU HAVE MY KAGUNE!?"

Rize looked at him with a teary smile, "It's okay, I don't want to hurt you. I could never hurt you, Otouto."

Kaneki froze, staring at her in disbelief, "What did you just call me?"

Rize was close enough to touch him, and did so, placing a hand on his cheek. She stared at him for a moment longer, before answering his question, "You are my little brother. Kaneki Ken. You know, at first I thought it was folly when mom broke up with my biological father, and started dating a human. I hated him at first, but you changed that. When mom gave birth to you, you were my whole world. I was five years old when you were born, and I never had any friends. You were my first friend."

Kaneki remained silent, in shock from what she was telling him.

"But it all ended too quickly." Rize said, her smile gone, "When you were about three, CCG found out about mom, and killed dad because he was married to a ghoul. I was at school, but mom was at home with you."

She choked back a sob, "When I got home, Mom was dead. And you were gone. I had lost everything in the span of one school day."

Kaneki kept staring at her, before enveloping her in a hug. Rize looked at him in surprise. He was crying.

"I actually have a family. I have a family. I have a sister. I had a mom. I had a dad." Kaneki said with a shaky voice, "All this time, I thought I was grown in a vat be CCG, that I was created as a living Quinque. When they punished me, I told myself that they were just sharpening me, that I was just a knife for them to use."

Rize's eyes turned red and black, "Punishment? What punishment?"

Kaneki pushed her away and started breathing heavily, crawling under one of the picnic tables in the park.

"My fingers on the bench. Centipedes in my ears. In my **HEAD**!" Kaneki screamed as his Kakuja formed, throwing the table aside, the centipede tails flailing wildly. He looked at Rize with panic, "1000 minus 7, 993, 986, 979, 972, 965..." he trailed off, going catatonic.

Rize embraced him, "Everything will be alright. They won't hurt you again." Her eyed hardened behind his back. Everybody knew what had happened to Jason, and this matched perfectly. The telltale signs of PTSD were all there. On the other hand, Kaneki also had a Kakuja. That comes with a large price, and judging by the shape it took, her little brother was the feared Centipede of CCG. A bogeyman that nobody was ever able to prove existed. Mainly because all of the alleged sightings left no survivors.

She calmed him down, his Kagune vanishing as he became silent. He needed a place to stay, and she knew just the place.

* * *

.

Touka was wiping out a cup when the door opened. It was closing time, and she went to tell that to whoever walked in, but her eyes widened in surprise and the words never left her mouth.

Rize walked through the door, carrying a sleeping Kaneki in her arms. At first, Touka thought that Rize had somehow defeated him. But he wasn't injured, and she was carrying him far too carefully for him to be an enemy.

"Is Yoshimura in?" Rize asked, "I need to ask a favor."

Touka tore her eyes away from the sleeping ghoul, "What are you doing with him, Rize? Either kill him or take him away from here, he's a monster."

"What he _is_ is none of your concern. Where is Yoshimura?" Rize responded firmly.

"Right here, Rize." Yoshimura said as he walked out of the back, "What is it you need?" his eyes landed on Kaneki, and he narrowed them, "What is the reason for you bringing this young man here, Rize?"

Rize looked at his sleeping face, "I need a place to hide my little brother. He escaped from CCG, so I know they'll be looking for him."

Everybody in the cafe stopped what they were doing, even Yoshimura had wide eyes, "I was unaware that you had a younger brother. That he just happens to be the ghoul I drove off the other day is extraordinary."

Rize looked at him, "So you fought him, huh? Then you should know that having him on your side is a good idea. In exchange for shelter for Kaneki, I will join Anteiku. Just please let him stay here."

Touka looked back and forth between Yoshimura and spoke up, "You aren't seriously considering it, are you? You're the only one of us who can fight him. He could kill us all if he wanted to!"

Yoshimura looked to her, "You should know that I am still a fair bit stronger than this child. Besides, what would you do in Rize's shoes, Touka? If you had an opportunity to save your little brother from CCG, would you not take advantage of it?" he looked back at Rize, "He is welcome here, but he will lose that privilege should he step out of line. And I expect you to work for his room as well. He is welcome to as well, but I have a feeling he will need some time to get used to the change of scenery."

Rize smiled gratefully, walking up the stairs to where she knew the guest rooms were.

She opened the unmarked door while still holding Kaneki, and laid him down on the bed inside. She looked at him for a moment before closing the door and sitting down on the small sofa next to the bed.

"Sweet dreams, Otouto."

* * *

 **.**

 **So first of all, I put AU into the description so people don't yell at me in PMs again, despite the fact I thought it was a fairly obvious AU.**

 **Kaneki is a natural One-Eye, and shares the same mother as Rize, thus their Kagunes are almost identical. Kaneki's father was a human, and their family was killed by CCG when Rize was at school. Kaneki was kidnapped by CCG due to his hybrid status, and they molded him into a weapon for exterminating ghouls.**

 **That about sums up his origins, Review with any ideas you may have or just tell me what you think of my new story.**


	5. Chapter 5

.

Kaneki woke up in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. He looked around dazedly before remembering the events of last night. He smiled like a child before getting up out of bed quickly. He saw his suit folded on the stuffed chair next to the bed, and noticed that he was wearing black sweatpants and a white shirt. So his sister put different clothes on him.

He looked around the room he was in. It was slightly bigger than his cell, and it's color and furnishing was amazing in his eyes.

"Is this where sis lives? Sis." he said, testing the word. It was strange, but he had a sister now! He had family! He frowned when he realized something, he didn't know her name.

"I'm stupid." Kaneki said, "How did I not ask that?"

He walked to the door, opening it slowly. He peeked into the hallway, looking left and right before walking out cautiously. He looked around, and saw that there were other doors here, and some of them had writing on them.

 _'Probably names'_ he thought, _'do other people live with sis?'_

He walked down the stairs at the end of the hallway, turning in to see what appeared to be a restaurant of some sort. He had never seen one so he wouldn't know, but it matched the descriptions of ones he heard of.

It appeared that they weren't open yet, as the sun was just rising and nobody was here. The curtains were down over the windows as well.

He walked around the bar and stood in the main room, examining everything within. It felt calm, and happy. He didn't have much experience with those emotions, however, so the entire experience just felt strange to him.

He jumped and spun at the sound of the doorknob jingling. After a moment it turned, and the door opened to reveal Touka.

Kaneki tensed, this was the same ghoul from the other night. He didn't think she could hurt him or his sister, but the Owl definitely could. This girl was under the protection of the Owl, so she could be a threat.

He released his Kagune, forming three tentacles poised to strike.

Touka was frozen at the sight of Kaneki's Kagune, and she didn't dare move.

"Kaneki." an aged male voice called from behind him. He whipped around and backflipped onto the bar in a crouch. He hadn't sensed him at all.

Yoshimura looked at him with a kind smile, "You're awake. It seems I was right with regards to giving you time to adjust."

"Who-" Kaneki sniffed the air, immediately recognizing the telltale scent of a Kakuja.

His eyes widened, "Owl."

Yoshimura opened his eyes a crack, "I would appreciate you not referring to me as that. My name is Yoshimura."

Kaneki cocked his head, "You won't hurt me?"

"If I considered you an enemy I wouldn't be letting you sleep in my shop." Yoshimura chuckled.

Kaneki looked around, "This restaurant is yours?"

"It's a cafe, but yes, it is mine." Yoshimura answered, "Would you mind putting away your Kagune? None of us mean you harm."

Kaneki hesitated before complying, sitting on the bar in the process.

Yoshimura stared for a bit, as if waiting for something. Kaneki was unsure as to what he wanted, but he got his answer.

"He's waiting for you to move your ass off the bar." Touka said with a sigh, "Did nobody teach you any manners?"

Kaneki got off the bar, "No actually. I have heard _of_ manners, but I don't actually know what they are."

Touka looked at him in disbelief, "Seriously? Were you an orphan?"

Kaneki stared at her, "I don't know that word either."

Touka had no idea what to say to that, did nobody teach him _anything_?

Kaneki's face brightened, "Hey, you know a lot of words. Can you teach me?"

Touka paled, "Umm..."

"I think that's a splendid idea." Yoshimura said, "But as to the reason why you're here. Rize brought you in, and she agreed to work for your room. I would suggest thanking her when she arrives. She'll be here any minute."

"Who?" Kaneki asked, before his face showed realization, "Oh! Rize is my sister's name?"

Touka facepalmed, how was she ever afraid of this idiot?

Yoshimura nodded with a smile, "Yes. She agreed to work at this shop in return for allowing you to stay here as well, though you can take over that responsibility once you've been adequately trained.

Kaneki froze, "Trained?" he immediately tensed up, "No! I just escaped CCG! You think I'm going to let you train me too?"

Yoshimura raised his hands in placation, "Woah! I don't mean whatever CCG did to you. Perhaps a better word would be 'teach', you would only be learning how to make coffee."

Kaneki reluctantly relaxed, "You won't hurt me to make me learn?"

Touka looked at him sharply. Was that what CCG did to him? They tortured him as training?

"Of course not. We at Anteiku are invested in peace here in the 20th ward." Yoshimura reassured him with a smile.

Kaneki stared at him for a moment, "Hey old man, why do you smile so much? It's kinda creepy."

Touka looked ready to hit him, but Yoshimura just laughed, "I like keeping a sunny outlook on life, it helps me through the day."

Kaneki looked thoughtful, "Usually when I need help through something I count back from a thousand by sevens. It helps me stay sane."

Yoshimura's smile dimmed a bit, "Whatever helps." he said. So this boy was tormented by Haruguchi, how sad.

The door opened again, and Koma, Irimi, and Rize all walked in.

Kaneki's face brightened, "Rize!"

Rize looked at him with a smile, "Hello Kaneki."

Koma held out his hand, "Hi! My name's Koma. Nice to meet you."

Kaneki looked at the hand, then back at Koma, "You're boring."

Koma got a tic mark on his forehead, then grinned, "Boring huh? Ever heard of the Devil Ape?"

Kaneki's face brightened, "Yeah! You're the Devil Ape? Man there's so many strong people here! How was I missing all of you when I was hunting?"

Koma's face turned serious, "What do you mean by that?"

Kaneki seemed oblivious to Koma's anger, "I eat ghouls mostly, but I only go after the strong ones. Otherwise I have to eat a lot of weaklings."

Koma grit his teeth, "You've got balls kid. You know, I hate cannibals like you."

Kaneki was taken aback, "Well I would eat humans more, but CCG wouldn't let me. They only allowed me to eat ghouls, that's how I got my Kakuja."

Everyone froze, startled by the information.

Koma stared at him, "You worked with CCG? And you ate ghouls? AND you have a Kakuja?!"

"Uh, yeah..." Kaneki looked around, "Can't you smell it?"

Irimi shook her head, "No Kaneki, only ghouls who have a Kakuja can smell anothers'."

Touka looked back and forth, "What the hell is a Kakuja!?"

Kaneki was happy to answer, "A Kakuja occurs when a subject with an active Kagune consumes far more Rc cells than their body and Kagune requires. The excess Rc cells causes a mutation, forming a second Kakuhou set. A mask forms over the subject's face, and a hard shell of Rc cells forms over the extremities. The subject is also granted a second Kagune, usually a mutated form of their original Kagune." Kaneki pointed to his lower back, "I'm a Rinkaku, so I get a pair of limbs that take the appearance of centipede tails. They have the same usage of a Rinkaku, but they are as hard and tough as a Koukaku. They're really big and heavy though, so even though I can release them without using my Kakuja I can't use them very effectively. My Kakuja enhances my strength quite a lot, but for me the big thing it amplifies is speed. I'm fairly fast normally, but even dad has trouble keeping up with my Kakuja."

 _Well that was an assload of dangerous information._ Rize thought, but was more focused on a certain word, "What do you mean by 'dad'?"

"Oh," Kaneki looked down, "I mean Arima Kishou. I called him dad because he's stronger than me, and his hair."

Yoshimura butted in, "While the current topic is exceedingly interesting, we need to open up the shop." He looked to his left, "Touka? Rize can take over your shift, would you mind taking him to see Uta? He needs a mask."

Touka looked at Yoshimura with panic, silently pleading. Yoshimura merely stared impassively, not booking argument.

Touka sighed, "Fine. Come on, pasty. We're going to go see a friend." she said gesturing for Kaneki to follow her.

Kaneki balked, "I am not pasty, I just never got a chance to go outside during the day!"

"Whatever, you comin'?" Touka asked, already out the door. Kaneki stomped after her, shouting the whole way.

Koma and Irimi watched with surprise as they left, then Koma spoke, " _That's_ Mukade? Are you kidding me? That's the guy everyone pisses themselves over? He doesn't look like he could hurt a rat."

Yoshimura looked at Koma, "Appearances can be deceiving, especially in his case. As it stands I'm the only one here capable of fighting Kaneki, and even then it won't be easy. His centipede Kagune was able to pierce clean through my body, even though I was using my Kakuja."

The other workers looked back at where he left with alarm. Yoshimura let Touka go with someone like _that_?

Yoshimura noticed their worry, "She'll be fine. Kaneki has a childish innocence despite his deadly habits. I can tell he considers us his allies right now."

* * *

.

Touka was getting annoyed, Kaneki hadn't stopped asking her to teach him things. everything they passed by was met with a 'what's that' or 'that thing's cool'. It was driving her nuts!

She decided to talk about something more interesting there was nobody around in the early hour, so she may as well, "So, can you only get a Kakuja by eating other ghouls?"

Kaneki looked at her before answering, "Usually, because humans don't have very many Rc cells. There have been exceptions, however. For instance, Arata Kirishima gained a Kakuja despite only eating the dead bodies of humans from the morgue he worked at. That's actually how he was found out. The morgues all have Rc detectors all around them, and he only showed up on the scanners after he gained his Kakuja." He noticed Touka had stopped.

"What is it?" he asked.

Touka was staring at him with tears in her eyes, "That's what happened? All this time, me and my brother thought he just abandoned us. My brother became a psychopath because he thought nobody cared about him. All because he was MURDERED?!"

Kaneki looked at her sadly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were his daughter."

Touka jumped, climbing up the side of the wall of the building next to them. She kept going till she reached the top, and then Kaneki watched her disappear over the ledge.

Kaneki waited a few moments before his Kakugan activated and he crouched low before jumping straight up to the top of the four-story building.

He saw her sitting with her head resting on her knees, back against the wall of the roof access. He walked over to her, sitting down cross-legged in front of her.

"Go away." she sobbed, "I just want to be alone."

Kaneki stayed silent for a minute, then spoke, "Why would you ever want that?"

She raised her head to look at him. He was looking at her with sadness, "If you want to be alone, then you obviously have never truly been alone."

"What the hell do you know?" she growled.

"I may not know a lot, but I know what it's like to be alone." Kaneki said, "You're alone when you have no hope. You're alone when you have nobody who cares about you, and everyone who hates you. You're alone when you're screaming in pain, begging your nonexistent family to deliver you from the man with the bolt cutters. With every toe that he clips off, with every Quinque steel screw he twists into your body, only two things are certain. That you can always count down by sevens, and that you are completely alone. You're alone... when you know that you cannot rely on anyone but yourself for help."

Touka stared at him in shock, "Did all of that really happen?"

"And more." Kaneki answered. He looked at her with a firm gaze, "You're sitting in front of me, a person who is willing to follow you to the roof of a building to see if you're okay, and you are demanding to be alone. That sounds pretty stupid to me."

Touka looked at him for a long while before she smiled, "Yeah, when you put it like that."

Kaneki nodded before saying seriously, "Touka, right? I'm Kaneki Ken." He held his hand out.

Touka sweatdropped, but shook his hand anyway, "Nice to meet you, Kaneki."

Kaneki stood up, "We should go see that Uta guy, I've always wanted a mask I could wear without my Kakuja."

Touka followed, and they returned to street level.

Kaneki kept asking about different things, but now she answered him with a smile.

* * *

 **.**

 **And that's a wrap for this one. It is 4:13 AM as I write this, and I'm really tired.**

 **I've been trying to give all of the main characters a little story time, and I think I've been doing decent on that front.**

 **The reason why Kaneki acts so ignorant on some topics and knowledgeable on others is a combination of factors. Information pertaining to ghouls was readily available in Cochlea, but not so much on everyday life. In addition to that, Kaneki was allowed to listen to various books, and had a lot of spare time with nothing to do but think. So he's actually fairly intelligent with regards to emotions.**

 **Let me know what you think. I realize that some things don't keep with canon, Arata's death for example. I'll try to keep my speculation only limited to subjects that are up for speculation due to a lack of info.**

 **And yes to the guest reviewer. Hide will definitely be in this story, but things will happen much differently. You'll get to see what I mean in the next couple of chapters.**


	6. Chapter 6

.

Kaneki sat at one of the tables in Anteiku, working on his book. Rize had picked up his copy when she brought him to Anteiku, after he dropped it when she revealed herself.

Speaking of his sister, he saw that human staring at her from across the room. Hideyoshi Nagachika he said his name was.

Kaneki wasn't sure why he felt mistrustful of the human. After all, he didn't know that Rize was a ghoul so he couldn't do anything to hurt her. For some reason the fact that he was so nice to her was what got under Kaneki's skin. That in itself confused him, as he couldn't figure out the problem with that. He'd rather Hideyoshi be nice to her than mean. He would kill him if he was mean.

Kaneki decided to talk to him in person, to get a feel for what was setting him off. He got up out of his chair and walked over to the blond human's table, sitting down on the other seat.

Hideyoshi looked at the person who had just sat at his table, staring at him intently, "Umm, can I help you?"

Kaneki stared for a moment longer, "Why are you staring at my sister so much?"

Hide paled, ' _Oh shit.'_ "Umm, well... you see..." he sighed and decided that lying would be a bad idea this guy looked smart, "Well to be honest, I think she's really pretty, and she's actually nice to me when I talk to her."

Kaneki's face showed realization, "Oh! You like her then."

Hide looked surprised, "Uhh yeah, I guess you could say that."

Kaneki smiled brightly, squinting his eyes, "Well that's a relief. I thought you were some kind of psycho, staring at her like that. You can try, but know this. If you're mean to her, I'll kill you." he said while keeping his smile, "Not the 'I'll kill you' that you read in books, I will legitimately murder you in your home, slowly, and nobody will be able to find your corpse."

Hideyoshi was really freaked out, this guy was serious!

He gained a hold over himself, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "Haha, sure. I understand."

Kaneki nodded, never losing his smile. He turned to Rize, calling across the room, "Rize! Can you come here for a second?"

Hide looked at Kaneki in panic, waving his hands quickly. Kaneki ignored him, and waited for his sister to come over.

"Yes Kaneki? What is it?" Rize asked, "Is there a problem?"

"Not at all," Kaneki said, "I was just talking with this guy, and apparently he likes you. He looks like a coward, so I decided to tell you for him. Aren't I nice?"

Rize giggled, "Is this true?" she asked Hide.

Hide didn't know what to do, so he settled for nodding frantically. He figured he should exploit the opportunity though, so he stood up quickly.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?" Hide all but shouted, clenching his eyes shut on preparation to be rejected.

"Sure." Rize said simply.

Hide actually flinched, "Wait really?"

"Why not? You're rather cute, and you've been nice talking to. I don't mind going on a date with you." Rize answered with a serene smile.

"Yes!" Hide _did_ shout this time, before calming down, "Where and what time?"

Rize chuckled, "I'm working late tonight, so maybe tomorrow at seven? There's a cafe I like that sells books. Here's the address." She wrote down the address with the notepad and pen in her work apron, and gave Hide the note.

"I'll see you then." she said before walking into the back of the shop.

Hide stared and waited for her to leave, turning to Kaneki when she was gone. He grabbed Kaneki's shirt and began shaking him back and forth, "You bastard! Why the hell did you do that? Thank you so much!"

Kaneki would have killed him when he started shaking him, but he didn't think the blond was trying to hurt him.

Hide sat back down, having calmed himself, "Jeez, I don't even know your name."

Kaneki smiled, "Kaneki Ken, nice to meet you."

"Ken? Not Kamishiro? I thought you were her brother." Hide asked confusedly.

"We have the same mother..." Kaneki trailed off, "had."

Hide frowned, "Sorry man, I didn't know."

"It's fine," Kaneki said, "I don't remember her, I was very young when she was killed."

Hide's eyes widened, "Killed? My god, what happened?"

Kaneki opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of what he was going to say, opting for something else, "She got caught up in a battle between CCG and a ghoul."

The table was silent for a bit, before Hide decided to change the subject, "Oh crap! I didn't introduce myself, I'm Hideyoshi, but most people just call me Hide." he held out his hand to Kaneki.

Kaneki took his hand and shook it, "So Hide, I'm going to give you some advice. Me and my sister share our favorite author, Takatsuki Sen, and there are only two books that I can tell are missing from her collection. 'Monochrome Rainbow', and the second is 'Salt and Opium'. 'Monochrome Rainbow' is a collection of short stories and is not only well known, but is rather simple as well. So I would get her 'Salt and Opium', as that one is not well known, despite its great writing. She'll be impressed if you pick that one. You can say that I told you about those two books, but you chose the second one on your own. The choice is still yours, so it isn't a lie."

Hide nodded gratefully, "Why are you helping me so much? When you came over here I thought you were going to do the whole 'protective big brother' act, but you helped me out a ton instead."

"First of all, I'm actually younger than Rize. Second, I'm bored and have nothing to do, and I can't see any problems with you two going out on a date." Kaneki explained.

Hide accepted the answer, but man was this guy weird! It was almost as if he didn't care about social norms at all, or even know about them.

Kaneki yawned, "I'm tired. I'm gonna go take a nap, see you later, Hide."

"See ya." Hide said, raising a brow when Kaneki walked upstairs. He lived here? Why hadn't Hide ever seen him before?

He supposed it didn't matter, Kaneki had come out of nowhere and just decided to help Hide get a date with his own sister, even though he'd just met him.

As far as he was concerned, Kaneki had every right to be a little odd.

* * *

.

Jason looked out over the 20th ward from where he was standing on top of a skyscraper. That little bastard had come here to hide from CCG after leaving him for dead. If Ayato and Nico hadn't been there that psycho with the green Quinque would have killed him in his weakened state.

He stared out over the city, seething in rage.

"I'm going to kill you, Kaneki."

* * *

.

Kaneki opened his eyes when he heard the door to his room open. He sat up and saw Rize walk through, shutting the door behind her.

"Hey sis, what's up?" he asked while moving to a sitting position.

Rize looked at him for a moment before answering, "You know I'm going to kill him, right?"

Kaneki frowned, "Who, Hide? Why?"

Rize sat next to him on his bed, "He wouldn't understand, and I'm not the kind of person who would waste time hiding the fact that I'm a ghoul. It would never work. I only accepted so that I could kill him in secret, since he's taken such an interest in me."

Kaneki stared for a moment, "You know, I think humans and ghouls should get along more. It may sound hypocritical coming from me, a Kakuja, but I feel like mom and dad had the right idea. You should still kill people, but not people you're close to."

"I'm not close to him." Rize said.

"But you could be. Listen, I may not know personally, but I can tell that it's difficult to have relationships as a ghoul. Especially to a human. But think about something for a second. What if, in your desire to stay anonymous, you killed somebody that could have grown to become your whole world? Wouldn't that be sad?" Kaneki noticed her still hesitant, so he continued, "How about this? Wouldn't it be easier to live in a human society if everyone saw that you had a human boyfriend? I'm not saying tell him right away, but don't kill him. I have a good feeling about him, and I don't think it would be a good idea. Plus, I kinda like his personality."

"Why don't you date him then?" Rize teased.

Kaneki looked thoughtful, "Would that actually work? I didn't know guys could date other guys."

Rize panicked for a moment, "Umm, no Kaneki, not for you. Some people are like that, but if you don't know already then you're not that kind of person."

Kaneki didn't look convinced, so Rize decided to explain it to him, "Kaneki, which do you think are prettier, guys or girls?"

"Girls." Kaneki said.

"Which would you rather date? A guy, or a girl?" Rize pressed.

"A girl. I _could_ date a guy, but it wouldn't be my first choice." Kaneki answered.

"Then there's your answer." Rize said.

"Ooohhh." Kaneki said, like a child who just learned something.

"Well, I'm off. I want to get some food in tonight, since I'm apparently forbidden from eating Hide." Rize said standing up.

Kaneki chuckled, "Can I go with you? I want to show you my Kakuja."

Rize frowned, "I guess we could go to the ghetto, since we don't want anyone reporting your Kakuja."

"Nobody will report it! I'm actually really good at keeping my killing quiet, the only reason why people even know about Mukade is because CCG intentionally leaked the information to spread fear." Kaneki defended.

"Oh? That's not what Touka and Yoshimura said." Rize teased.

"Oh come on! I was frustrated because all of the strong ghouls were hiding apparently, so I had to go for quantity over quality. You try killing five ghouls at once without making any noise." he pointed at Rize.

Rize chuckled, "Well, if you want quality then the 14th is the place to go. You'll be right at home, cannibalism is all the rage there right now."

Kaneki's eyes lit up like a kid in a candy shop. They were going to have some fun.

* * *

 **.**

 **Now I know people are going to ask, so I'll put it up here. Kaneki is not homosexual, he was just curious about the scenario Rize unintentionally provided. Remember he has virtually no experience with regards to stuff like that, so I think he's doing rather well isn't he?**

 **Let me know what you think. Shit's going down in the next chapter, so get ready for that.**


	7. Chapter 7

.

Hide had showed up fifteen minutes early just to be safe, and sat outside the bookstore/cafe. The book he bought rested in his lap. The place looked interesting, for all intents and purposes it looked like a small library that served food next to a window, similar to Anteiku. _Well, the window part._ he thought. He was wearing a white suit shirt without the jacket. His mother tried to get him to wear a full tux but he refused to even receive that image. His hair was also cut so it was longer in the back, with his bangs parted in the front*.

"Hide!" a voice called to his left. He turned to see Rize walking up, wearing a long white dress with sleeves that matched her violet hair, and more purple outlining her bust. Hide tried not to think about that last part.

He stood up and smiled at her, "You look beautiful."

Rize blushed slightly, "Thank you. You look rather handsome yourself."

"Thanks," Hide said, slightly nervous, "Umm, I got you a gift." he held out the book for her to see, "I wont pretend I got it without help though, Kaneki told me both your favorite author and which books you were missing from said author. I chose this one because it was less known about, and from what I read the writing is better than Monochrome."

"Salt and Opium?" Rize asked, "Where did you even get this? This is a rare one alright." she couldn't keep the awe out of her voice.

"It took some looking, but because it was one of Takatsuki's earliest novels I was able to find it on Ebay in mint condition," he said, "It wasn't too difficult to get."

Rize looked at him with a knowing smile, "Hide, I have looked for this book before. I know how expensive it is for a used copy." she flipped open the cover, "You got a mint condition _signed_ copy of one of Takatsuki's earliest novels. The amount of work you put into finding this book had to have been astronomical, you can't fool me. Are you absolutely sure you want to part with this?"

Hide laughed, "Yeah it may not have been easy _per se,_ but I didn't get it for me. I got it for you."

"But-"

"Come on, you just said I worked hard to get it. Don't tell me I did all that for nothing." he teased.

Rize smiled, "Thank you."

"No problem." Hide said, "Should we begin our date, Mademoiselle?" he said with an exaggerated bow.

Rize sweatdropped, he said that word way too well, "Only if you promise me never to say that again."

Hide slumped, "It wasn't that bad."

"No, it was _too_ good. That's the problem. It reminded me of someone I'd rather not be thinking about, especially a date." Rize said.

Hide raised an eyebrow, but dismissed it.

He would ask her after the date.

* * *

.

Touka was laying in her room with nothing to do. She was listening to music with her earbuds in, but was completely bored outside of that. She had finished all of her schoolwork, and her shift was over.

She heard a knock on her door and pulled one headphone out, "Yeah?"

Kaneki opened the door and walked in, sitting crosslegged next to Touka's bed, "Hey Touka, I'm bored."

"Well what the hell do you want me to do about it? I'm just as bored as you are." Touka said, "And don't just walk in, that's part of good manners."

"Ugh!" Kaneki groaned, sprawling out on Touka's floor, "Manners are stupid, I think they were invented by cowards."

"Man, you're such a child sometimes." Touka said, propping herself up on her elbows.

Kaneki was silent for a bit, "Acting like a kid is fun. I don't have to care about what people think, and I never got the chance before."

Touka stared at him sadly, "Kaneki. Would you... nevermind."

"Would I be alright telling you what happened to me?" Kaneki asked, already knowing the answer. He rolled over and stood up, shutting her door.

He went back and sat down a short distance from the bed, gesturing Touka to sit in front of him. She sat down with her back to the bed, wondering why he wanted her to sit here.

She jumped when his Kagune formed a single red tentacle. Her eyes widened when he held out his hand, staring at it for a long moment.

Then his Kagune impaled his palm, and she gasped. The tentacle dissipated, leaving a hole in his hand, but that wasn't the strangest part.

"It takes me a lot to be able to bleed anymore." Kaneki said, staring at the inch-wide hole that was already closing. Not a drop of blood had left his hand.

"At first CCG was confused as to why they couldn't get me to bleed anymore. I was... seven I think." Kaneki closed his fully healed fist, "From what I understand of it, my absurd healing factor is directly tied to my DNA. After so many times of being severed, torn, and destroyed, my body changed most of my tissue formations to resemble the structure of a Kagune. Blood just flows around wounds uninterrupted, because a wound like this for me is as much a part of my day as breathing. That's the special property of One-Eyed ghouls. The more you hurt them, the stronger they become. CCG had to design special Rc detectors for me, as the normal ones will go off when I come anywhere near them. About eighty-three percent of the tissue structures in my body are formed out of Rc cells. They turned me into a walking Quinque."

He looked away from his hand, staring Touka in the eyes, "They had already destroyed seventy percent of the original human tissue in my body when I was seven years old. Now, despite my One-Eye status, I am more ghoul than even most Kakujas. You see, there's only one difference between a human and a ghoul. The concentration of Rc cells. Humans are born with the same muscle structure as ghouls, but the higher Rc count of a ghoul will strengthen their body beyond what humans are capable of. Just the same, ghouls have _human_ cell structures. Even Kakujas are formed around what are essentially human bodies. I'm different though. The Kakuja you've seen me use is only what I'm willing to use. Should I decide to fully succumb and dive into my Kakuja, not even the One-Eyed Owl could put up a fight. Not from what I've seen. I have so many damn Kakuhous it's not even funny. Generally, you only have one Kakuhou per Kagune, but I have one in pretty much every part of my body. I only use two, because the one time I used more than that I lost my mind. I was strong, unbelievably so, but I was pretty much just a Kagune acting on it's own, without form or function."

Touka stared at him, trying to comprehend what he was saying, "How is that even possible?"

"Rc cells are extraordinary structures. CCG knows quite a lot about them, too. Did you know that you can turn a human's entire body into a Kagune with a large enough injection of Rc cells? The mass that's left isn't intelligent, so it dies after a couple of days, but that doesn't change the fact. CCG does experiments like that to humans too, but humans aren't nearly as tough as me. They all die." Kaneki said. He was rambling now, but at least he had someone to talk to.

Touka crawled forward and hugged him, tears running down her face.

Kaneki hesitated, but hugged her back. He was happy that she cared enough to cry, even though she had only known him for about a week.

"I'm so sorry that you had to go through something like that. Just thinking about it pisses me off, and makes me want to kill them all." Touka said, her eyes red.

Kaneki laughed slightly and tightened the hug, despite the tears in his eyes.

Touka took a breath, only now noticing his scent. _'He smells nice_ _'._

Kaneki took a shuddering breath from crying, noticing her closeness as well, _'She smells nice.'_

They both took another deep breath, then realized what they were doing. Touka pulled back quickly, while Kaneki just looked confused.

As usual, his lack of tact came into play, "You smell really good, did you know that?"

Touka blushed with embarrassment, grabbing Kaneki by his shirt and dragging him to her door. She opened it and threw his protesting form out of the door before slamming it.

Kaneki got up off the floor, "Was it something I said?"

He walked downstairs with a confused expression on his face, wondering what just happened.

Koma and Irimi were both downstairs, locking up for the night. Koma noticed Kaneki's look, "Hey man, what's up? You look vexed as all hell."

Kaneki looked up at him, face lighting up, "Hey Saru-san, you're smart, can you answer my question?"

"Uh, sure bud. What's up?" Koma said.

"I was in Touka's room, and she asked about what they did to me in CCG. I answered her, and I started ranting about Rc cells. But when I told her about the tortures she started crying and hugged me. I hugged her back, but then _I_ started crying. Then I got a breath of her scent, and took a deep breath. _She_ did it first though." Kaneki started waving his arms, "But then she jumped away from me, _I_ apparently said something wrong and she threw me out of her room. Her face was really red too!"

Koma burst out laughing, slamming his hand on the table repeatedly. Irimi walked up and grabbed his shirt before punching him in the face, giving him a bloody nose. She turned to Kaneki, "Sorry Kaneki, Koma's an idiot. Now what exactly did you say wrong?" she asked kindly.

"I just told her she smelled really good." Kaneki said.

Irimi tried, she really did. But after a couple of moments she burst out laughing as well.

"What's so funny?!" Kaneki shouted.

Irimi calmed down first, "Sorry Kaneki, I know you don't know a lot about social skills, but I'm going to leave you to figure this one out."

Kaneki glared, "Fine, I'll just go ask her myself."

Koma and Irimi watched in amusement as he turned around and stomped up the stairs. There was silence for a total of one minute before they heard a massive bang.

A couple of moments later Kaneki came back down the stairs, bleeding from various cuts on his face and with one very large splinter of wood jutting out of his skull.

"Touka needs a new coffee table." he said before going over to one of the the tables and sulking.

They started laughing even harder than before, and Koma even started rolling on the floor.

Yoshimura walked through the front door to see the peculiar sight, "Is there a reason the store isn't locked up yet?"

Kaneki brightened, rushing over to Yoshimura. He explained the situation as best he could, but didn't get the response he wanted.

Yoshimura's calm smile became a bit forced, and the corners of his mouth started twitching as if from intense effort, "I feel that this is something you need to learn for yourself. You'll figure it out eventually."

Kaneki shouted in frustration, sitting back down at the table. He looked up and saw something brown that moved with his head. He grabbed it and pulled it out of his head before looking at it. A giant splinter.

"Was anybody gonna tell me I had a tree in my head?!"

* * *

.

Hide and Rize had started walking back to where Rize's small apartment was. The date was enjoyable for both of them, and They continued to converse on their way back.

As they were walking back however, they passed a construction site that held one feature Hide considered suspicious.

A large man in a white suit, wearing a hockey mask, and blocking their path.

"Well! You must be Rize. I've heard a lot about you." the masked man said, cracking one of his fingers.

Hide stood in front of Rize protectively, "What do you want?"

"I don't talk to food." he said, and Hide's eyes widened. Was this guy a ghoul?

Rize stepped around him, "Sorry Hide-kun, but you need to leave now."

"What?! there's no way I'm leaving you alone with this guy. No way in hell!" Hide shouted.

Rize have a humourless laugh, "I was hoping to know you a bit more, Hide. I'm sorry."

Hide looked on in confusion as she walked ahead of him. He was about to walk after her when four red tentacles burst from her lower back, waving around menacingly. A Kagune.

Hide's mouth opened wide in shock. No way! Rize was a ghoul? No way!

Rize stared at Jason a bit longer before launching forward, attacking him with her Kagune.

Jason blocked with his own horned Rinkaku, laughing in her face.

"You know, I wasn't originally looking for you. I was looking to kill your dear little brother." Jason said with glee.

Rize's look sharpened. Where the hell did he get that information?

"I followed his scent last night, noticing that another scent was with him. Imagine my surprise when I see the two of you massacring ghouls and humans alike in the 14th ward." Jason laughed, "Then I heard you call him Otouto. I was just going to settle for killing him, but I decided I'd take away his big sister first!"

"You won't touch him!" Rize screamed as she started stabbing her Kagune forward repeatedly with ferocious brutality.

Jason grimaced when her strikes actually damaged his Kagune. He regenerated the broken limbs, but this was going to be an uphill battle if he couldn't find an opening.

He got his opening when Rize looked at something out of the corner of her eye. Jason impaled her with his Kagune, lifting her up and throwing her into a wall.

He smirked as he walked over to her prone form, lifting his Rinkaku in preparation to strike. The sound of running footsteps behind him made him whip around though.

He just barely caught sight of a glowing red tanto right before it pierced through his eye.

Jason screamed at the top of his lungs, and started flailing around wildly in spastic motions, screaming gibberish all the while.

Hide stumbled back, pulling his tanto with him. He looked at the massive ghoul coldly, "Why aren't you dead yet?"

Jason didn't respond, continuing to flail around like a fish out of water. His screams weren't making any sense. it sounded like he was just blurting out random words and phrases.

Hide looked to Rize still laying a distance away, and ran around Jason to get to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Rize looked at him with shock, "You're helping me?"

"Of course, I don't give a shit that you're a ghoul. it doesn't change who you are." Hide said.

Rize was about to respond, but noticed something, "What is that?"

Hide held up his tanto, now a dull red, but still lined with the glowing veins of a Kagune, "This? It's a Quinque. A Koukaku. I got it off the black market, because the ghoul activity started increasing here. I kept it in my boot. Good thing I had it huh?"

Rize was about to respond when she heard a loud _twang_ above her. Her eyes widened, and she grabbed Hide and threw him out of the way.

Just as a pile of steel girders crashed down on her.

Hide opened his eyes after he landed, and tried to get up. But there was something wrong.

He couldn't feel his legs.

He looked down to see his midsection being crushed by one of the girders. He tried to lift it up but couldn't. He kept trying to get up, but he was getting tired. He noted dazedly that he must be losing too much blood.

He gave up and just laid there, looking at the blood leaking from the pile of beams.

 _'Rize'_ he thought, just before he passed out.

* * *

 **.**

 **So, how much do you hate me now? I know, I'm actually pretty sad about it too, but it is necessary for the story to continue like I want it to.**

 **Leave me an arsenic-filled review, I still want to know what you think.**


	8. Chapter 8

.

 _...Accident... needs her organs... next of kin... full responsibility..._

 _._

 _._

 _'Where... am I?'_ Hide thought, _'Why am I in bed?'_

His eyes shot open, and he sat up quickly, "Rize!" he screamed.

He heard rapid footsteps and jumped when the door swung open. A nurse stood in the doorway, panting lightly, "Jeez, you scared me. I thought you were dying!"

Hide looked down, mumbling an apology. The nurse stared at him for a couple of moments, before walking over and checking the various machines he was attached to.

Hide was silent as she did this, up until she started reading his trauma report. Her brow was furrowed, as if the report held some mystery she was trying to unravel.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me how Miss Rize is doing? She is the woman I was with when the accident happened." Hide clarified, making sure to say accident. He didn't want them knowing she was a ghoul if she could help it.

The nurse's expression turned sad, "She saved your life."

Hide nodded, "Exactly, she pushed me out of the way. Only one of the beams fell on me. Come to think of it, how do I feel so good? I thought for sure I was going to be a paraplegic for the rest of my life if I even survived." His face became more determined, "So that's why I need to make sure she's okay!"

The nurse shook her head, "That beam destroyed all of the vital organs in your midsection, as well as damaging your spine like you suspected. Dr. Kanou had to perform an emergency surgery to not only correct your spine, but replace those organs in your body that were lost. You were the same blood type, and... Kamishiro-san was deceased when the ambulance arrived. I'm sorry, but Dr. Kanou had to perform an emergency transplant."

Hide gripped the bed sheets, tears streaming down his face, "I knew it was foolish, when I saw the pile of girders after they fell. I knew, but I thought that if a... someone as weak as I am could survive, then someone strong like her could too." He almost said human, but caught himself. He grit his teeth and slammed his fist on the steel table next to him, denting it, "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!" he punctuated each curse with a punch that dented the table further.

"Calm down, Hideyoshi." a male voice spoke firmly.

Hide jerked his head around to see a white-haired doctor staring at him intently, and he reluctantly laid back down.

"My name is Kanou, I was the one who performed the surgery." Kanou said, taking a seat next to Hide, "Your mother has visited several times, and I have assured her that I would notify her when you woke up."

"How long was I out?" Hide asked tonelessly.

"Eight days. Astonishing given the severity of your injuries. Not many people can recover from a spinal injury that quickly." Kanou said, standing, "Can you stand up for me? I want to see if you are fit for release."

Hide got off the bed, standing up carefully. He was shaky, but otherwise fine. Kanou took note of this in his clipboard.

"Another young man came in to visit as well, he said he was your brother." Kanou said while he checked Hide's pulse. He noticed it spike but didn't say anything.

"Do you want me to call your mother? Or do you think you can make it home on your own?" Kanou asked.

"Um, no thanks, I can make it back on my own." Hide said, despite his confusion. What kind of hospital allowed someone with such severe injuries to leave minutes after waking up? _'Whatever, I need to make another stop before I go home anyways, so this works out.'_

Kanou merely nodded with a smile, "Your possessions are over in that locker there, we grabbed... everything we thought was yours."

With that, Kanou left the room. Hide walked over and opened the locker, immediately noticing that the canvas hospital bag had more stuff than he had on him at the time.

He grabbed the bag and opened it, eyes moistening as he peered inside. He reached in and pulled out the book he had bought for Rize, the cover scuffed and dotted with dried drops of blood. He dropped the bag and slumped down against the wall, tears flowing freely from his face. He stayed in that same spot for a moment, before he noticed something peeking out of the bag. He reached inside and grabbed the object, his suspicions rising with every moment.

It was his Quinque.

Hide stared at it with wide eyes. It was in it's scabbard, the one he had attached to his calf. The staff of this hospital had gathered and returned an obvious CCG weapon to him, even though it was illegal to own a Quinque if you were not an Investigator.

There was something seriously off with this place. Why hadn't they immediately realized that Rize was a ghoul? And if they did, why the hell were they letting him leave? After giving him her _organs_! There were so many sketchy things about this place it wasn't even funny.

Hide quickly changed into the sweatpants and T-shirt they provided, not eager to spend any more time here than necessary.

He left the hospital in a hurry, not in the direction of his home but somewhere else.

He needed to pay someone a visit.

* * *

.

Kaneki laid on his floor, staring at the ceiling. His bloodshot eyes leaked tears that ran over the trails of tears he already shed. The hair on the sides of his head was matted down, and the carpet beneath was also darkened.

He hadn't stopped crying for over a week. He had stayed on his floor, not eating, drinking, or sleeping. Merely crying nonstop. If he was being honest it was rather annoying, but he couldn't find the energy to quit.

He only was allowed to have family for a week before it was taken from him. With how his life had gone thus far, he figured he shouldn't be surprised. But this pain in his heart was unbearable. He would rather be spending his time with Haruguchi than feel this badly.

Why did this happen? As bad as he felt for himself, what devastated him was Rize. Why, after all this time of her living her life did she lose it when he showed up? CCG didn't kill her, they would have been bragging about killing the 'Binge-Eater' on the news. He didn't believe the reports that there was a steel beam accident either. Steel beams maybe, he saw the state Hide was in after all, but not an accident. He knew from experience that her reaction time was far too high to not be able to dodge.

Who killed her?

* * *

.

Touka sat with her back to Kaneki's door, her face downcast as she listened to him cry. She knew this was unhealthy, but she couldn't bring herself to try and stop him.

She knew how important Rize was to him, despite the relatively short time he knew her. He had every right to mourn. It was much better than him turning into that 'walking Kagune' he told her about last week. She wouldn't blame him for that either, but luckily it wasn't an issue.

She stood from her sitting position, walking down the stairs into the shop. She was dressed for work despite it being an hour before her shift. She decided to get some overtime since she had nothing else to do. She hadn't realized how much she enjoyed Kaneki's company before he started secluding himself.

Touka looked at a table left by a particularly messy customer and scowled. They could at least clean up when they spill a quarter-cup of coffee on the wood table.

As she was wiping up the coffee she heard the entrance bell ring, and turned.

Her eyes were wide as Hide walked through the door, "Hey Hideyoshi, what-" he cut herself off, sniffing the air.

Touka's face showed panic, and she immediately pushed him out the door, dragging him behind her as she ran. She may not have known Kaneki for long, but she knew nothing good would come of him smelling Rize all over Hide.

She was proven right when a loud crashing echoed behind her, in the direction of Anteiku.

"Hey, what gives?!" Hide shouted, "What's going on?"

"Shut up! You do not want to see Kaneki right now, especially smelling like that!" Touka shouted as they ran. She dragged him into a particularly foul-smelling alley next to a fast-food restaurant, and waited. After a moment of not hearing anything, Touka sighed in relief.

Up until Hide was no longer next to her.

Hide flew down the alley, impacting the back wall.

Kaneki stood there without any expression on his face, and he cracked his finger sharply.

Touka ran in front of him, "Kaneki stop! We don't know what-"

Kaneki grabbed her face and threw her behind him, walking towards Hide purposefully.

Hide opened his eyes. Kaneki was walking towards him, mouth pressed into a thin line. What startled Hide was his eyes. Only one was red.

Hide stood up, but took a kick to the stomach for his efforts. Kaneki picked him up and threw him over his shoulder, Hide's body tumbling down the alley.

Touka ran forward to block Kaneki's path, but was stopped in turn when she got near Hide. Kaneki was using a centipede tail without using his Kakuja. She stopped when she saw this, as that meant that Kaneki was in control of himself.

Hide's eyes were wide with fear. That Kagune was huge! The bladed tip was resting just above his chest, able to end his life at any time.

Kaneki crouched over Hide, "Tell me Hide, do you know what one-thousand minus seven is?"

Hide was confused, "Umm, 993?"

"Wrong." Kaneki said, "The correct answer would be 'the only constant in Kaneki's life'. As far back as I can remember, Counting backwards from one-thousand by sevens has been the only way I could keep my sanity as I was tortured from a young age..." Kaneki said, "Until two weeks ago."

He looked at Hide, his face absent of any emotion, "Two weeks ago, I managed to escape from my lifelong home in a cell at the Cochlea ghoul prison. I came here for different reasons, but what was important was I had met Rize here. She showed me her Kagune, a mirror of mine, and told me about my past. She was my sister. After all this time and against all odds, I managed to find my sister out of sheer luck. I finally had the family I screamed about so much when I was being repeatedly ripped apart by the ghoul investigators."

Hide stayed silent, so that's why he'd never seen him before.

Kaneki cracked another finger, "I was able to get one whole week of happiness with my sister before she was ripped away from me as well." he gave a dry chuckle, "That's the longest I've ever been happy."

He pulled his tail away from Hide, "I bet you expect me to kill you, after all it was because of you that she was in that area. But I won't. I was the one who told her not to kill you, to give you a chance, and I was the one who brought her killers here. I may not know who they are, but I will find out. As far as I'm concerned, my sister's death rests solely on my shoulders. But I won't let that happen again. I will kill any who oppose Anteiku, and you're going to help me."

Hide was taken aback, "What the hell can I do? I'm just a human. I can't fight a ghoul!"

"Aside from the Quinque I smell in your backpack, you are most certainly a ghoul. At least now." Kaneki said.

Touka stepped in, "Umm, Kaneki? I think you're mistaken. He's a human, no matter how much he might smell like Rize."

Kaneki gestured to come stand next to her, and she complied despite not knowing the reason, "Look at Hide." he said.

Touka did so, "Yeah, still human." she said sarcastically.

Kaneki bit into his wrist, deliberately tearing the veins so they couldn't move, and let his blood fall.

Hide's left eye immediately changed from brown to red, as he smelled the rich scent of Kaneki's potent blood.

Touka gasped, "A One-Eye!"

Hide looked back and forth, "What's a One-Eye?

Kaneki held out his hand, "Someone like me. Let's get back to Anteiku. You still need to tell me about what happened that night."

Hide looked at his hand, still wondering what a One-Eye was. But if Kaneki thought he could help him avenge his sister, Hide would do whatever he could. He took Kaneki's hand after a moment.

They would never let this happen again.

* * *

 **.**

 **What do you think? I know Kaneki seemed a little too calm there, but that was not only because he got most of his tears out in the previous week, but he also recognized the fact that Rize's scent was tinged with human. He understood what happened, and sought out Hide because of it.**

 **Also, I have a combination of a migraine and the stomach flu, so forgive me with regards to the slightly less fleshed out chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you DarkGrav for making the awesome cover image. I am grateful, because now people might actually click on this story now that it has a good cover, instead of the monstrosity I had previously.**

* * *

.

Kishou Arima stood over the... somehow... regenerating body of Yakumo Oomori, famously known as Jason.

They had brought him to the Quinque labs in order to weaponize him, but his Kakuhou refused to be removed. Every time he felt threatened, his Kagune would lash out on instinct, despite the head wound that turned him into a vegetable, and the lack of actual body response. For some reason the hole that extended through his eye wasn't healing with the rest of him. Granted none of him should be healing, but he was. So it was strange that the original damage had refused to regenerate.

Arima pressed the button on his case, releasing his Narukami Quinque from it's confines. The strangely mechanical weapon lit up with electricity before the four panels that made up the majority of the sword folded inward to create one single blade wreathed in coherent yellow energy.

Arima walked forward into the cell, and Yakumo's Rinkaku burst from his lower back, the barbed tentacles coiling protectively around his prone body like snakes. One of them shot at him, and Arima simply sidestepped before slicing it off with his powerful Quinque. The remainder of the tentacle pulled back, and wrapped around the other one.

The barbs smoothed out, and the two Rinkaku fused into one, growing thicker and wrapping around Jason's arm. The newly formed partial Kakuja shot at Arima, extending beyond what it initially appeared capable.

Arima wasn't fazed, he merely dodged all of the apparently sentient Kakuja's attacks, before running forward under it and swinging his Quinque powerfully. The fluorescent blade carved through the thick appendage like it was butter, and it dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, twitching violently. Arima calmly walked over to Jason, raising his sword to sever the ghoul's head.

"Who are you?"

Arima stopped, staring at the ghoul below him. Jason's eye was still missing, but the other eye stared at Arima with confusion, before switching over to fear.

Jason shot up, backing away frantically. He stared at CCG's Reaper with fear, but not the fear Arima had come to expect from ghouls. Jason was looking around frantically, as if the world made him afraid, "Where am I?"

Arima answered him, "You are in a CCG Quinque lab."

"CCG? Kwinkay? What's going on? Who are you!?" Yakumo stopped in his speech, eyes growing wide, "Who am I?"

Arima frowned, "Excuse me?"

Jason crawled up to Arima, his large stature making the image rather amusing.

"Do you know who I am?" the ghoul pleaded.

Arima opened his mouth slightly, as if to answer when he suddenly had an idea. He stared at Jason in thought for a moment, before giving his answer.

"No, I do not."

* * *

.

Yoshimura glanced around his coffee shop, pleased with the amount of income he would be receiving from the large volume of customers. Yoshimura had the best cafe in the 20th ward, and the only reason everybody wasn't flocking to it was because the time it took for their orders to be made.

Yoshimura had decided not to have Kaneki work directly in the shop, instead opting to use him as an enforcer and 'food shopper', like Yomo. Hide had taken to waiting tables marvelously, and his presence shaved quite a bit of time off of taking orders. Before it was just Touka.

Kaneki walked in to the shop, his dark hooded clothing drawing some cautious looks from ghouls and interested ones from the few humans.

He walked straight to Yoshimura, "The new supplies are in the garage."

Yoshimura nodded, "Thank you Kaneki. Why don't you follow me? There's something I need to teach you."

Kaneki raised an eyebrow, but quickly got interested. Was Yoshimura going to teach him about controlling his Kakuja? He kept asking, but Yoshimura always deflected his questions regarding it.

He followed Yoshimura into the back room of the shop, where Yoshimura had a living room of sorts.

Yoshimura turned to him, "Alright, Kaneki. You are going to start learning how to eat like a human. Sometimes social situations will call for a ghoul to eat human food, and you need to know how to give the illusion that you are eating. Take care, though. eating human food can be detrimental to your health."

Kaneki stared at the sandwiches with apprehension. He was hoping for Kakuja tips, but this could also be beneficial if he wanted to stay out of CCG's hands. He stopped, thinking about that. His original intention was to try out freedom for a little bit, going back to them when he had his fill. But did he really want that? He had gotten so used to talking to people and having actual friends, that he didn't know how he could function without them. It had only been a couple weeks, but he felt like he'd known them all his life. No, he wouldn't go back. He had too many reasons not to now, it wasn't even a contest.

He picked up one of the triangular pieces, and hesitated for a moment before taking a small bite. His eyes widened and he stared at the food for a moment in surprise.

Yoshimura saw his face, "Yes, it's disgusting. But you still need to learn-" he was cut off as Kaneki did something he didn't expect.

He started devouring the sandwich viciously, finishing it off within seconds. He descended on the rest of the sandwiches like a storm, eating them with a gusto that shouldn't be present in a ghoul eating human food.

Kaneki actually started choking due to how quickly he had been eating, and Yoshimura, confused as he was, handed him a water bottle that was originally supposed to help him suffer through the food.

Kaneki downed it and gasped, panting heavily from the lack of oxygen.

" _That's_ what you call disgusting? What kind of food are you used to? That was delicious!" Kaneki exclaimed.

Yoshimura opened his mouth but no words came out. Kaneki could eat human food?

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise." the manager said, "I was preparing for a long and arduous learning process. The fact that you are human in part must allow you to eat human food."

Kaneki was thoughtful, "It might be because ghouls can't produce Rc cells like humans can, so my body isn't forcing me to a specific diet like full ghouls have to use."

"I did not know that, but I suppose it makes sense." said Yoshimura. Inwardly his mind was spinning. If One Eyed ghouls actually produced Rc cells, then Eto's monstrous Kakuja might actually come from her hybrid status rather than cannibalism. Yoshimura had cannibalized for _far_ longer than his daughter, yet his Kakuja wasn't nearly as evolved as hers. At first he just attributed it to her being a glutton for ghouls, but if she was like Kaneki then this changed everything he had thought.

Another lingering thought was the fact that Kaneki had been asking for Kakuja advice a lot lately. Yoshimura thought he didn't need it, because Kaneki had shown more than adequate control thus far. But if he really was like Eto, then the manager had only seen the smallest version of Kaneki's Kakuja. He thought about this for a moment before looking to Kaneki.

"I've made a decision. I'll start helping you control your full Kakuja, since given what you just told me I'm sure I haven't seen it. Normally I wouldn't do this, but I will not allow a full Kakuja in the 20th ward if you can't control your power, regardless of who's side you're on." Yoshimura stated firmly.

Kaneki started, "What does my Kakuja have to do with eating human food?"

"If you're producing Rc cells, then once you start eating human food I'm sure that every time you eat a human or ghoul... the extra Rc cells will be going solely to your Kagune."

Kaneki's eyes widened in shock and a bit of fear. It was going to evolve _more_? "Then I won't eat human food."

Yoshimura shook his head, "I think you're mistaken. I _want_ you to evolve."

At Kaneki's confused look he sighed, time to get it out in the open, "Kaneki, I feel like you could be the uniting factor between the human and ghoul races. And maybe, you can be the salvation of others like you. Right now, Hide feels like he has no place in either of the worlds, whereas I feel he is one of the few with a place in both. There are other One Eyed ghouls out there, and they will need a leader. You could be the one who brings acceptance between humans and ghouls. But I'm not so naive as to think they'll accept you willingly. Sometimes, as horrible as it sounds, people need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the real world, and you have the power to do that."

Kaneki was silent for a moment, before he let out a shaky breath, "That's a lot of weight you're putting on me old man, but if it needs to be done... Wait, 'others like me'? The way you said that makes it sound like you met someone like me already."

Yoshimura was silent, and Kaneki had a sneaking suspicion as to why. He didn't have the opportunity to ask however, as the manager spoke.

"I will begin helping you train tomorrow after the shop closes. I need to make some preparations." he said, gesturing to the door. Kaneki nodded and left the room, quickly heading in the direction of his room. Before he could get there however, he stumbled and his hand went to his head. He gave a soft groan of pain, and hurried into his room.

The One Eyed ghoul slumped down against the wall and began muttering to himself.

"Could I do it?"

"Can I do it?"

"Will I do it?"

"Will attempt? Yes. Can truly? Don't know."

"The old man knows a One Eye."

"Definitely."

"Someone he is protecting. Perhaps by making a target."

"Of course, _we_ know what the real Owl looks like."

"He was smaller."

"Exactly."

"Smaller Owl. Protecting a One Eye."

"He's protecting the real Owl."

"But he still looks like Owl."

"Our Kagune is like Rize's."

"Yes it is. A blood relative. Sister? Brother?"

"No. Owl appeared recently. Yoshimura is old."

 _ **"CHILD!"**_

* * *

 **.**

 **Sorry for the very late update. I have had various life choices forced upon me, and the result is zero productivity.**

 **As many of the things I have stated are not defined or explained in canon, this is an AU (Like every fanfiction, honestly). Not sure if I already said that.**

 **I wanted to give a little insight to Kaneki's mind with the last scene, as his multiple personalities are fairly canon.**

 **Let me know what you think. Also, Sorry DarkGrav for telling you I was working on the update and not finishing until months later.**


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